Birkenhead locals petition against Auckland Transport's plan for transit lane

Wednesday, 10 April 2019

Auckland Transport says a southbound T3 lane along Birkenhead Ave would enable more consistent travel times for bus passengers and improve travel time reliability along the route.

Plans for a new transit lane on Auckland's North Shore have prompted a 1000-plus strong petition from locals opposed to the idea.

Auckland Transport (AT) is proposing to install a 400-metre southbound T3 lane on Birkenhead Ave between Recreation Dr to Onewa Rd, operating from 6:30am to 10am, Monday to Friday. Consultation on the proposal closed on April 4.

Northcote MP Dan Bidois says he was not notified of the consultation.

The petition is supported by Northcote MP Dan Bidois, who says residents preferred alternative solutions to fix the congestion problems, including redesigning the road to introduce more lanes, and shifting AT's focus to nearby Onewa Rd.

Locals also complained AT's consultation letter allowed only two weeks to provide feedback on the proposal, during a time when the country was still coming to terms with the terror attack in Christchurch.

* Extension of T3 lane times on Auckland's Onewa Rd delayed to September 2018

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In a letter to AT, Bidois said AT had failed to notify him or the Kaipātiki Local Board that a consultation process was underway.

Onewa Rd's T3 lane in action during peak hour traffic in March 2018.

'Auckland Transport's reputation for consulting and responding to local concerns is low, to say the very least … the public expects more from AT and if your organisation is unable to improve, the need for central government legislative reform to AT will, in my opinion, grow stronger.'

In response, an AT spokesman said letters were sent directly to affected residents and emails went out to key local stakeholders including businesses, emergency services and the local board.

The spokesman said AT would now analyse 255 submissions, of which 134 agreed with a T3 lane and 41 liked the proposal with some changes.

'We have also received a petition from the local MP which we will consider as part of the consultation,' he said.

In its proposal, AT outlined Birkenhead Ave as a key regional arterial road linking Beach Haven and Glenfield to the Northern Motorway via Onewa Rd.

It said about 25 buses an hour used the road during the weekday morning peak, with 17 services in the southbound direction which experienced poor travel time reliability due to heavy congestion and traffic queues impeding the left turn from Birkenhead Ave onto Onewa Rd.

A T3 lane would enable more consistent travel times for bus passengers and improve travel time reliability along the route, while also providing an incentive for carpooling.

'Our modelling shows that putting in a T3 lane on this section of Birkenhead Ave would reduce southbound bus travel times by approximately 50 seconds,' the spokesman said.

Onewa Rd is notoriously slow-moving for commuters to Auckland's CBD each morning. In 2018, AT figures showed that those in the transit lane were four times faster than those people not in a bus or carpooling.

AT's figures on Onewa Rd for March and April 2018 showed 90 buses and 440 vehicles travelled on the T3 lane during the peak three-hour period. In comparison, there were 2200 vehicles on the general lane.

Those on the T3 lane also went more than four times as fast, with average speeds of 14kmh, while those on the general lane were at a near standstill with an average speed of 3kmh.